Vocabulary Challenge 8: https://tw.voicetube.com/everyday/20190508
心智圖詞彙攻略: ericvocab.com
Script:
Hello, VoiceTubers! Welcome to today’s academic vocab challenge! My name is Eric, your resident English teacher, and today, let’s talk about ancient civilizations.
What? Ancient civilizations (古代文明)? Are you kidding me? Why are we learning about ancient civilizations?
That’s a good question but believe it or not, ancient civilizations are a part of your daily life. Current elements of our government and way of life today all come from ancient civilizations, so understanding them will help us understand our own way of life better (古文化的一些特徵就就連在我們當代的政府還是持續的存在,解這些特徵當然會幫我們更了解我們周圍的事物和世界). For example, if you study the Roman empire, you could see how their legal system influenced the civil law systems (歐陸法系/ 民法法系) of modern governments such as Japan, Germany, and France. You can also see how overexpansion (帝國過度擴張) partially led to its downfall. Modern leaders, whether they lead a country, company, or a group, can learn valuable lessons from ancient civilizations all the time. We can better understand different cultures might act or how groups of people might think? (理解各個文化和各國人做事的動機思考的方式)There are other reasons such as appreciating and understanding other cultures, even movies and Tv series today are often about ancient civilizations.
First, let’s focus on our sentence of the day.
This is the original sentence in the video:
Not only do we have these technological and architectural advancements, their religion, their writing has influenced civilization since, for the last five, six, seven thousand years.
A “grammatically correct” version in writing should be:
Not only do we have these technological and architectural advancements, but their religion and their writing have (also) influenced civilization for the last five, six, seven thousand years.
Please note that in speaking, certain words are sometimes omitted because the speaker assumes everyone knows them. Speakers also make minor “errors.”
Do not omit “but” when you are writing.
http://www.learnerhall.org/2012/10/not-only-but-also-b.html
Not only do we have these technological and architectural advancements, but their religion and their writing have (also) influenced civilization for the last five, six, seven thousand years.
我們不只擁有他們的這些科技、建築進展，他們的宗教信仰、寫作也影響了之後五、六、七千年的文明。
So let’s say this sentence again.
Not only do we have these technological and architectural advancements, but their religion and their writing have (also) influenced civilization for the last five, six, seven thousand years.
Faster
Not only do we have these technological and architectural advancements, but their religion and their writing have (also) influenced civilization for the last five, six, seven thousand years.
What are the possible thought groups?
Not only do we have these technological and architectural advancements
but their religion, their writing has influenced civilization since
for the last five, six, seven thousand years.
What about the sentence stress? You could say:
Not only do we have these technological and architectural advancements
but their religion and their writing have also influenced civilization
for the last five, six, seven thousand years.
How about the intonation?
Not only do we have these technological and architectural advancements (up)
but their religion, their writing have influenced civilization since (up if you are continuing)
for the last five, six, seven thousand years (down).
So if you examine this sentence grammatically, you might think, should I use since or for? (所以你分析這個句子你可能會覺得他有文法錯誤, 現在完成式不是用for或者是since嗎? 怎麼兩個都用?) Well, this is a small speaking error. No one is perfect in his or her speech because of numerous factors, one is that we have to think and recall information while we talk. In this case, it is quite difficult since the speaker is trying to recall historical facts.
While grammar is important, you must remember speech is for communication. If you can successfully get your ideas across without misunderstanding, then you are a successful speaker. That should be your first priority! If you want to examine grammar, you should use “for a period of time” and “since a specific time.”
FOR + A PERIOD OF TIME 一段時間
e.g. three years, four hours, ages, a long time, months, years
That house on the corner has been empty for three years.
SINCE +REFERS TO A PREVIOUS POINT IN TIME 時間點
e.g. last Monday, last year, 1987, yesterday
That house on the corner has been empty since 2006.
https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/english-grammar/present-perfect
Since, for, ago worksheet:
http://assets.cambridge.org/97805216/26002/excerpt/9780521626002_excerpt.pdf
Not only but also
http://www.learnerhall.org/2012/10/not-only-but-also-b.html
OK, now every time, we can go over thought groups, sentence stress, and intonation. Then, we can talk about one grammar point each time. It might seem like a lot, but we have built up these concepts over time. Try to focus on one concept each time so if you have not heard our previous pronunciation challenge, go back to the first episode.
OK, let’s take a break!
So it might seem strange to you that I’m recommending a video on ancient civilizations in pronunciation challenge, where we usually talk about daily life topics (日常生活). The reason why I am doing this is that I feel you need more in-depth content, not just things you think is easy to talk about.
As a university teacher in both Taiwan and the US, many of my students have good grammatical knowledge and sometimes even pronunciation. However, when given a more complex topic like environmental protection, they might be able to talk about recycling and maybe global warming and that’s it. They simply do not have the vocabulary, collocation, or even knowledge to discuss these topics at an academic and professional level! You need both content (內容) and form(形式), not just form.
Yes, traveling, eating, and shopping (旅行，吃飯和購物 ) are very important! Yes, daily life conversations are needed even when you are in the workplace. However, many of us need English for professional reasons. We cannot simply talk to our employers, coworkers, or even clients ONLY about daily life topics. Hey, how’s the weather today? It’s fantastic. How about tomorrow? Oh, it might be a bit chilly. How about next week? I think it will warm up again. Are you doing to talk about the weather, eating out, traveling every single day with everyone at school and work? Teacher, teacher, yes, I am. Oh, ok.
But…but…English is also a great way to acquire more information. To be able to understand more in-depth topics, you need to have the basics down. How can we learn about how to solve complex problems without basic knowledge? Rome wasn’t built in a day. 羅馬不是一天建成的!
Now, let’s go back to English learning and over some additional words:
Not only do we have these technological and architectural advancements (up)
but their religion and their writing has influenced civilization since (up if you are continuing)
for the last five, six, seven thousand years (down).
| Word | Form |
relating to technology, which is defined as new machines, equipment, and ways of doing things that are based on modern knowledge about science and computers 技術的，關於（或涉及）技術的 technological advances 技術進步 technological innovation技術創新 Technological advances in computing and telecommunications have reduced the need for many people to travel to work. 隨著電腦及通訊技術的進步，許多人將不必再出門上班了。 |
(adj.) |
| 2. architectural
relating to architecture, which is defined as the style and design of a building or buildings 建築的；建築學的 architectural designs 建築設計 architectural plans 建築計畫 architectural features 建築特色 節能功能是這種建築設計的亮點。 |
(adj.) |
| 3. advancement
the development or improvement of something 發展，提高，改善 career advancement 職業發展 advancements in science 科學進步 The new technological advancements greatly improved people’s lives. 新的技術進步大幅度地改善了人們的生活。 |
(n.) |
| 4. civilization
human society with its well developed social organizations, or the culture and way of life of a society or country at a particular period in time 文明社會；（特定時期特定社會或國家的）文明，文化 western civilization 西方文明 ancient civilization 古代文明 modern civilization 現代文明 Some people think that nuclear war would mean the end of modern civilization. 有人認為核戰爭將意味著現代文明的終結。 |
(n.) |
| 5. code
a system of words, letters, or signs used to represent a message in secret form, or a system of numbers, letters, or signals used to represent something in a shorter or more convenient form 密碼；代號；代碼 a set of rules that are accepted as general principles, or a set of written rules that say how people in a particular organization or country should behave 法典；法規 a code of conduct 行為守則 a code of law 法律法規 There were plans to introduce a dress code (=rules about what to wear) for civil servants. |
(n) |
OK, a lot of stuff! If you are interested in learning more about academic knowledge, check out one lecture in ericvocab.com
Come and listen to me talk about vocabulary, knowledge, and how to use English for success.
I’m Eric and I will see you next week!